Platts Report: China oil demand rises 3.5% in November from year ago

China's apparent oil demand in November rose 3.5% year over year to 42.18 million metric tons (mt), or an average 10.31 million barrels per day (b/d), according to a just-released Platts analysis of Chinese government data. The official data also showed China turning into a net exporter of oil products during the January – November period this year.

China’s apparent oil demand in November increased 2.2% from October. Meanwhile, total apparent oil demand was 9.99 million b/d during the first 11 months of the year, an increase of 2.3% over the same period last year.

In an unprecedented development, China has become a net exporter of oil products over January to November this year, with oil product exports surpassing imports by 70,000 mt.

Stimulus measures implemented by the Chinese government and a seasonal uptick in year-end demand helped buoy consumption in November.

“Chinese refiners requested for more oil product quotas from the government for the fourth quarter,” said Platts senior writer for China, Song Yen Ling. “This was mostly to accommodate additional jet fuel exports because of robust production growth.”

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